Air Station Borinquen - Commanding Officer
Capt. Tina J. Peña
Commanding Officer, Air Station Borinquen
Captain Peña comes to Air Station Borinquen after completing ten months of study with the US Air Force at the Air War College in Montgomery, AL. She received her commission in December 1995, after graduating Officer Candidate School, and was assigned to the Coast Guard Cutter HAMILTON, homeported in San Pedro, California. As a Deck Watch Officer, Helicopter Control Officer and Boarding Officer, she deployed to the Bering and Caribbean seas and supported law enforcement missions across the globe.
In December 1999, she earned her wings of gold and was assigned to CG Air Station New Orleans. There, she upgraded to Aircraft Commander and supported a variety of land, shipboard and rig-based operations across the Gulf Coast and Gulf of Mexico. It was during this tour that she was designated an Aeronautical Engineer. In 2006, Captain Peña was assigned as the Assistant Aeronautical Engineering Officer at CG Air Station Atlantic City where she became an Instructor Pilot and assisted in the stand up of the National Capital Region’s Air Defense facility in Washington, DC. In 2010, she attended Purdue University and in 2011 was assigned as CG-931’s Aviation Acquisitions liaison at the Aviation Logistics Center. In 2013, Captain Peña was assigned as the Aeronautical Engineer at CG Air Station Miami, where she was responsible for ten aircraft and a 195-person maintenance team supporting search and rescue and law enforcement operations which included counter-narcotic and illegal migration activity throughout South Florida, the Florida Straits and Caribbean basin areas. Prior to the Air War College, she served as the Commanding Officer of CG Air Station New Orleans, from 2016 to 2018, where she was responsible for aviation missions across the Gulf Coast.
Captain Peña holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Florida and Master’s Degrees in Public Administration from Troy University, Industrial Administration from Purdue University, and Military Strategic Studies from the Air War College. She has served as an Instructor Pilot, an Aircraft Commander in all models of the H65 helicopter and has been qualified to conduct Rotary Wing Air Intercept missions. She has logged over 3,300 flight hours in the H65 and holds several FAA ratings to include her rotary wing Airline Transport Pilot (ATP). Her personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal. Captain Peña is originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida and is married to James Peña, originally from Dallas, Texas.